We're not talking about the famous ones (Esther, Jonah,
James) We’re talking about the TINY ones.
The ones rarely quoted in sermons. And when they are, it takes you
twice as long to find them, because they're only 1 to 15 pages long.
Squashed between longer books, what's in these itty bitty books, and
what's so important about them that they're in the Bible?
Second up in our TBOTB series (reminds me of TCBY, or
ICBINY, and now I’m craving some Yogurtland) is Haggai.
When I was a kid, I used to think this book was written by
Hagar, the Egyptian slave that had to sleep with Abram because Sarai couldn’t
bear him any children, and Hagar bore Ishmael (Genesis 16).
But nope, Haggi does not equal Hagar, nor do either of those
equal Hagar the Horrible. Haggi is
Haggi alone.
IT’S SO SMALL!
I CAN’T FIND IT! WHERE IS
IT?
Haggai is between Zephaniah and Zechariah, but it’s probably
easier just to go to the beginning of the New Testament and page backwards,
because Haggai is the third to the last book of the Old Testament.
HOW SMALL IS IT?
Haggai is two chapters, and two pages long (by my Bible,
anyway).
WHO WROTE IT?
Haggai was a prophet.
You could argue that all the Tiny Books Of The Old Testament are written
by prophets, and all the Tiny Books Of The New Testament are written by
disciples, or more generally, followers of Jesus.
WHAT’S THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT?
So! Remember
back in 586 B.C. with Obadiah and how Jerusalem fell and Judah was ransacked and
God’s people, the Israelites, were sent to live in exile? Fast forward to 538 B.C., and the Persian king Cyrus is
allowing the Jewish exiles back into Judah, and even allows them to rebuild
their temple.
So they come back, and start to rebuild the temple. But their neighbors the Samaritans (not
all of them are Good Samaritans.
In fact, that was the whole point of the Good Samaritan story, because
Samaritans in general were not nice people, but I digress) give them a lot of
grief for it, so, much like kicked dogs, they stick their metaphorical tail
between their legs,
we-don’t-want-any-trouble-we-just-got-back-from-exile-you-know, and stop
working on the temple, and start going about their lives, and building their
own homes for them to live.
But God wants His temple to be rebuilt. So he speaks through the prophet Haggai
and prods the Israelites to get a’cracking.
Haggai’s prophecy to the people of Judah and their response
is done in the pretty speedy (especially in Biblical times) timeline of three
and a half months.
WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT?
God, through Haggai, tells the Jews to get back to work to
rebuild the temple. He points out
that the Jews have been working a bunch, but don’t have a lot to show for
it. That’s because God’s been
messing with their work (no crops, drought, etc.), because it’s not fair that
the Jews get to lives in houses while God’s temple is still in ruins. But God through Haggai promises His
people that He is with them, so that inspires the Jews to get back to work.
So the Jews do get a’cracking, and God through Haggai tells
His people that once the temple is rebuilt, it will be glorious, and how from
this day on, God will bless His people.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
WHY DO YOU THINK IT WAS IN HERE?
Whereas most prophets in the Old Testament are saying
“REPENT! REPENT, DAMN YOU (NOT
REALLY, BUT YOU PROBABLY WILL BE DAMNED IF YOU DON’T REPENT!) and lone gloomy
Obadiah is saying, “NEVER MIND REPENTING, YOU’RE DOOMED BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU
DID.” Then all prophet Haggai is
saying is, “GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND REBUILD!” Which is probably the nicest of things that a prophet could
say, huh.
Since in today’s times, we’re told repeatedly that God isn’t
in a building per se, this emphasis of God to his people to rebuilt HIS
building seems kinda strange.
But I think what’s happening here is that God was all about
His temple in the Old Testament, until he sent Jesus in the New Testament. When Jesus was crucified for our sins,
the curtain in the temple tore in two, and I think that symbolizes that
everyone is allowed into the Holy Place in the temple (as opposed to it being
priests previously). When the
temple was officially destroyed in (70 AD), the idea was that God’s people
didn’t need a temple anymore, because they had Jesus.
But here in OT times, God’s people DO need a temple.
Additionally, it’s a sign of respect to rebuild God’s
temple, and give the people a way to focus their attention and worship toward
God, instead of themselves.
In the tradition of Back Up Testimony, Haggai might be in
the Bible to back up Zechariah, a
prophet in the same time as Haggai, saying (in Zechariah 7 and 8) the same
thing as Haggai, but without all the wackadoo imagery (four horns, four
craftsmen, gold lampstands, olive trees, woman in a basket, flying scrolls, etc.) that Zechariah has.
And it’s nifty to see how God promises to be there for his
people, “I am with you,” declares the Lord
(Haggai 1:13) and again “From this day on, I will bless you.” (Haggai 2:19)
So it’s nice to be reminded that even when you’ve slacked
off on stuff, God doesn’t give up on you.